As Darkness Falls
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: Neal and Peter catch a new case as they discover that one of their old enemies has escaped from prison. As the case progresses in their search for him, things only become more complicated and Neal and Peter soon have to ask Mozzie for help in bringing the man and a new enemy that has joined the infamous Dutchman down.
1. Chapter 1

As Darkness Falls

Chapter One

Both agent and con man ran through a sixty story office building as they chased after an old enemy from the past, one running up several flights of stairs to catch up to his partner as the other ran through the halls directly behind the criminal they were after, who was currently trying to escape after being caught by the teammates and the rest of the FBI's white collar unit trying to sell a priceless work of art that he had stolen from a private collector.

Men and women that worked throughout the building were rushing around the three men running in the opposite directions trying to escape after the thief had initially opened fired against both agent and con, who soon after were separated as the man they were chasing disappeared from them and they decided to search in opposite directions in order to apprehend the man, who was a dangerous thief that needed to be brought back to prison where he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone again.

As the criminal ran around a corner on the twelfth floor, the suave con man turned FBI consultant, wearing one of his usual, stylish suits and fedora, quickly followed suit, but then suddenly came to a dead stop as he rounded the corner and came face to face with a person he knew could not possibly be standing before him. However, before the shock could even register, a shot was fired and blackness slowly began to claim him as he collapsed to the floor, pain flaring within him. It was then that a second shot was suddenly fired and unconsciousness finally came, but not before the sound of his partner shouting out his name sounded from a distance, fear clearly evident in the tone of his voice.

"Neal!"

Thirty-two hours earlier…

Like he did every morning, except for on his days off, which lately were more common than they usually were, Neal Caffrey walked into FBI's headquarters with a smug and yet genuine smile that could melt most women's hearts. Diana was the only woman that his smile didn't work on and the con man knew that it wasn't just because she went for women instead of men.

Diana was just a hard case, one whom he hoped he'd be able to win over one day. Little did he realize, the uptight agent respected him more than she let on. Trust was not something that came easy to her, especially when it came to working to trust a man, who was a criminal and Caffrey was a criminal, though a criminal she knew deep down was a good man, one who would give his life to protect Peter and even the rest of them if need be.

"Good morning, Diana," Neal spoke up first as he walked up behind her and then handed her a cup of coffee he had come into the offices carrying, as well as one for Peter, Jones, and one for himself as well.

Diana looked at him with suspicion in her eyes as she responded, "Caffrey. You seem to be in a good mood this morning. What's this coffee going to cost me today?"

Neal looked hurt as he answered, "Can't a guy just do something nice for you without you automatically assuming that I want something from you?"

"Can you really blame her?" Jones asked in a mocking tone as he came over to them and Neal handed him his own cup. "You usually do want something from one of us and in order to get it, you try to bribe us with something."

"Yeah, well not today I don't," Neal replied. "These are on the house. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got something for Peter that he'll want to know about."

As Neal walked into his friend's office, Peter was on the phone, but he quickly motioned for Neal to come in and have a seat and as he did, the ex-thief immediately knew that Peter was speaking with his wife, Elizabeth. From what he could tell, Neal discovered that Peter was in a good mood this morning like he was, but it had nothing to do with a case like the one he was about to drop in the agent's lap.

Neal handed Peter the coffee he brought in for him as the man finally hung up and after doing so, Peter said, "Thank you, Neal. What exactly is this going to cost me?"

The con man looked at his friend with hurt on his face as he asked, "Do all of you really believe that I can't do something nice for you without me wanting something from you in return?"

"No, of course not," Peter responded sincerely. "I'm sorry. How are you this morning? You seemed pretty chipper when you walked in this morning until now. Do you have a case for us or something or did you just get lucky last night?"

"First of all, I don't have to speak with you about my love life, but …" Neal began until Peter interrupted.

The agent said jokingly, "Or lack of one."

Neal glared at him and then as he just ignored him as he continued, "But in answer to your question, yes, I do have a new case for us, which is a good thing because I have been getting bored just sitting way down there behind my desk sifting through old case files or sorting them out before filing them away where they all go to die."

"I know what you mean," Peter agreed as he spoke up again in seriousness. "What do you have for us?"

"I was out with Mozzie this morning and we ran into an old friend of ours, or should I say, an old friend of one of my old aliases, who was very anxious to show me a priceless painting done by Rembrandt he had just secured," Neal answered. "Let me tell you, Peter, it was exquisite, at least I thought so until I got a closer look."

Peter smiled as he replied, "The painting was a forgery, wasn't it?"

Neal nodded as he responded, "It was and a very good one at that, which I wouldn't have caught if it weren't for discovering the initials painted into it down in its corner."

"Whose initials were they?" Peter asked.

"Who else can't help signing his work, whom we had quite the fun, but difficult time trying to bring down in the early days of our partnership?" Neal asked himself.

Peter thought for a moment and then suddenly smiled as he answered, "Curtis Hagen, aka the Dutchman! But he's supposed to be rotting in prison for the rest of his life. How could he have pulled this off?"

Neal replied, "It's possible that he has contacts and help on the inside, but I'll bet you anything that if you were to make a call to the big house, you'll discover he somehow managed to escape."

"If that were the case, I would have heard about it," Peter responded as he picked up his phone to check on whether or not Neal was right.

"Not if his friends on the inside covered up his escape," Neal answered and then waited as Peter made the call.

After a few minutes, Peter hung up and spoke up saying, "It looks like you were right. I just spoke with the warden, who checked in on Hagen personally. He was shocked to discover that it wasn't Hagen in his cell, but someone else Hagen had gotten to pretend to be him and take his place. I suggest you and I head on over to the prison to speak with the warden and our fake Dutchman in person so that we can find out what happened. What do you say?"

Neal smiled smugly and replied, "Lead the way. I have no problem with going back to prison, as long as it's not me being locked up."

"The day is still young," Peter said jokingly.


	2. Chapter 2

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Two

When Peter and Neal arrived at the prison where Hagen was once locked up, the partners found the warden waiting just outside the gates for them. As they approached, the partners could see that the man wasn't taking the fact that a prisoner had escaped under his watch too well, especially since he wasn't even aware of the escape until Peter had called him less than an hour ago.

Peter spoke up first as he said, "Warden Travis, I'm Agent Burke with the FBI. We spoke earlier on the phone."

The warden replied, "Yes, Agent Burke, thank you for coming and so quickly."

"Well, when a person escapes federal custody, especially a person of interest in our latest case, we tend to act pretty fast in hope of catching the guy before they get too far away," Peter responded. "By the way, you don't know my partner here, as you weren't warden here when he was incarcerated, but I'm sure you know him by his reputation, especially since he has also managed to escape federal custody, on more than one occasion. I'd like you to meet, Neal Caffrey."

"You're Neal Caffrey?" the man asked as he stared at the con man oddly, indeed knowing him by his reputation, but not ever having had the chance to meet him until now.

Neal held out his hand to shake the warden's, but pulled it back when the man didn't reciprocate, then answered, "Yeah, I am. I guess you have heard of me."

Travis nodded as he replied, "Everyone around here has, but I wasn't expecting you to be working with the FBI."

"Well, the truth is I wasn't exactly expecting to do so myself, but as it turns out, it has so far been one of the best decisions I've ever made," Neal responded.

"But what exactly is he doing here, with you, Agent Burke?" the warden asked. "Unless you're planning to put him back…"

Peter interrupted, "He's here as a consultant. He works with us to put scum, like Curtis Hagen, behind bars where they belong. Neal may have once belonged here, but not anymore. He and I have a history with Hagen and we know how he thinks. We're just here to take a look around his cell and hopefully to have a chat with the man that took his place so that he could get out."

Neal continued, "He may have information that could help us figure out where Hagen is planning to go."

"Well then, I'm afraid you're a little too late; about a half an hour too late," Travis answered in frustration.

"What do you mean we're too late?" Peter asked. "You mean, he's dead?"

The warden replied, "That's right. After I spoke with you, I had a few of my men move James Briggs from his cell and into one of our visitor's rooms where you'd be able to have a talk with him in private, but when I finally arrived to talk with him myself, I found him dead. He was killed with a shank to the neck, but by whom, well I have yet to learn by whom. There are men currently guarding the crime scene to make sure that it remains undisturbed until you've had the chance to see the body."

Neal turned to look at Peter as he spoke up again saying, "It sounds like whoever did kill our imposter is working for the real Dutchman and he's good. Hagen obviously didn't want Briggs blabbing to us. I suggest you run another background check on each of your men here in case one of them is under Hagen's thumb, warden."

"Listen, I don't need some fast talking, fancy suit wearing, two-bit con man telling me how to run my prison," Warden Travis responded coldly.

"Look, I get you obviously don't agree with my decision to bring Caffrey in to work with the FBI, but the truth is, what you think doesn't matter, seeing as we'll only be here just long enough to take a look around," Peter said firmly as he broke in to defend his friend. "Neal may be a con man and a thief, but now he works for us. It's because of him that we have been able to bring down a large number of criminals and save a lot of lives. He's also my friend, now do what he said and be sure to keep us informed of what you find. We're going to go take a look at your crime scene and then Hagen's cell."

Travis nodded and grudgingly answered, "You've got it. Let me know if you need anything else."

After the man left, leaving Peter and Neal alone as they walked toward the crime scene, Neal spoke up again as he said, "You really are in a good mood today. You never call me your friend, especially in front of other authority figures."

"Yeah well, don't get used to it because it won't happen again," Peter replied. "I know Travis from some time back. We were in different precincts, but we worked together on a few cases back when I was just a cop. I've always disliked him for more than one reason or another; a real arrogant bastard."

"I got that too," Neal responded as they finally made it to the room where Briggs' body was still sitting up awkwardly in the metal chair that he had been placed into and then hand-cuffed to the table, the shank still deep within his neck. "Ah, that's just awful. I really hate it when our cases involve dead bodies."

Peter agreed, "Yeah, me too. You know what this crime scene almost reminds me of?"

Neal answered, "It almost looks just like the first crime scene we went to together, back when he had his fake lawyer kill the book dealer, except that he was killed with a syringe instead."

"Our killer obviously had to improvise," Peter replied. "We already know Hagen's a killer, but I'm guessing that after a few years in prison, he's only gotten worse and he probably wants to add you to his list."

"If you think you're taking me off this case and into protective custody…" Neal began until Peter cut him off.

He said, "I should do that. I want you safe, but the truth is, we'll catch him a lot faster as long as you're here to help us. If I do this, I need you to promise me that you'll stick with me, at all times. Is that understood?"

Neal nodded and then responded, "No problem. You're the boss."

"You bet I am," Peter answered as he laughed and then walked out of the room, followed by Neal. "Let's go and take a look at Briggs' cell."


	3. Chapter 3

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Three

Shortly after the discovery of their suspect's body at the prison, Peter quickly made a call to Diana to ask for her and Jones to come meet them and then ordered a group of the FBI's crime scene investigators to join them, as the FBI had now taken over the scene from the warden's team.

As they arrived and walked over to where Peter and Neal were talking with two of the prison guards, Peter finished up their conversation and finally turned to face his teammates, but before he could say anything to them, Jones was the first to speak up as he said, "So, Caffrey, how does it feel being back in prison?"

Neal laughed half-heartedly as he answered, "Ha ha, very funny, but Peter already beat you to that one, Jones. Can't you come up with anything new?"

"It's still plenty funny to me," Jones responded.

"Yeah, I don't think the joke is getting old either," Diana replied in agreement and then turned to look at Peter. "What have you got for us today, boss?"

Peter looked between Diana and Jones as he answered, "Curtis Hagen; aka, the Dutchman, escaped a little over an hour ago by using another inmate by the name of James Briggs as a decoy, which was convincing enough to fool everyone here, and then had the man killed just before we arrived so that he couldn't talk. We're waiting to get a look at the video footage to find out how Hagen managed to slip past all the guards, but my best guess…"

Neal continued, "He got out by dressing up as a prison guard, kind of like I did when I escaped."

"Exactly," Peter responded. "Hagen's got contacts reaching out within different law enforcement agencies and law offices, that spreads God knows how far. He won't be as easy to find this time around."

"The next thing we should do is go and have a chat with my old friend that had Hagen's forgery of the Rembrandt painting," Neal replied. "I tried to speak with him as Wes Brandt, but…"

Diana spoke up again as she asked, "I take it Wes Brandt was one of your old aliases before you came onto our radar?"

Neal nodded and then continued, "Unfortunately, I couldn't get my old friend to tell me how he got it, as he's a bit paranoid, even more so than Mozzie, if you can believe that."

"I can't believe anybody could be worse than Mozzie, nor can I believe that you can handle dealing with more than one guy like that," she answered.

"Yeah well, thankfully I don't see him very often," Neal responded. "He's more Mozzie's friend than mine."

Peter replied, "Then, I'm guessing he won't be so willing to have a chat with the FBI and Neal Caffrey?"

Neal shook his head as he answered, "No, but if I have a bit more time with him as Brandt, I may be able to get it out of him, with Mozzie's help of course."

"Of course," Jones responded.

"I'll call you when I've got something for you to work off of," Neal said as he headed toward the prison's exit until Peter stopped him.

The agent spoke up saying, "If you think I'm going to let you and Mozzie go and speak with this guy on your own, you're crazy. I'm sending Jones with you. Don't worry, you'll wear a wire and he'll be sitting out in the van with another agent or two."

Neal quickly replied, "But Peter, I…"

"I know what you're thinking," Peter interrupted. "I'm sending him along for your protection just in case Hagen decides to show up, not because I'm worried about you trying to pull off some kind of con."

"That's very considerate of you," Neal answered sarcastically. "Thank you very much."

Peter chuckled and then responded sincerely, "Just be careful and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Neal gave him his usual, charismatic smile and then replied, "Don't worry about it."

An hour later…

Neal was sitting on a park bench in the middle of Central Park when Mozzie finally walked up to him, a scowl upon his face that Neal could not help but laugh at. Mozzie just stared back at Neal as he waited for his long time friend and protégé to explain to him why he had called him to meet up.

"I take it from your foul disposition today that I interrupted something important, am I right Moz?" Neal asked. "Were you with a woman because that would be a cause for your attitude?"

"If you must know, I was with a woman, a very fine woman, but before you get any ideas, it isn't what you think," Mozzie answered. "I was with Elizabeth. We were tasting samples of the French cuisines she ordered for her latest banquet she's preparing for. Some of it was very tasty and some not so much. However, the wine she ordered was to die for."

Neal smiled and responded, "I'm sorry that I had to pull you away. I need your help."

Mozzie took a seat beside him and replied, "Of course you do. Does this have to do with the Dutchman? I heard he had escaped prison from one of our not so credible sources, but from the look on your face right now, I'd say he was right. Do you expect him to come after you?"

"I'm not sure, but Peter seems worried that he might," Neal answered. "But that's not what's important right now. I have to go speak with Dale again, but this time it's for the case. I'll be going in as Wes Brandt again, but I'll need your help with convincing him to tell me what we need to know. We need to find Hagen as soon as possible, before he hurts more people."

"I'll agree to help you because I hate the man as much as you and the suit do, but let me tell you, I'm doing this under protest," Mozzie responded.

He and Neal stood up and began to walk out of the park toward where Jones and the other agents Peter had assigned to join them were waiting inside the van as Neal replied, "You always work for the FBI under protest Moz. How is this any different?"

Mozzie grumbled, "It's not, I just… I just wanted to remind you. Let's do this before I change my mind."

"Whatever you say, Moz," Neal answered as Mozzie strode ahead of him at a quicker pace. "Whatever you say."


	4. Chapter 4

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Four

Neal, under the guise of one of his oldest aliases, Wes Brandt, and Mozzie walked up to the high-priced home belonging to Vincent Nialman, an old thief like Mozzie, who had managed to use his craft to make himself richer than most other thieves ever could and without getting himself caught. He wasn't a bad guy and he never hurt anybody to Neal's knowledge, but despite appearances, Neal certainly didn't trust him and he didn't like him much. It was because of Mozzie that he never brought Vincent to the FBI's attention until now, now that it was necessary.

Jones and the other two agents with them remained inside the van like they did for every other case. There was no need for them to cut Neal's anklet like they normally did, as Neal had been to see him more than once with it on and had already given him a reasonable story for why he wore it, but they made sure that Neal was now wearing the watch the FBI had given him for on the stings so that they could listen in on the conversation.

After a young woman that worked for Vincent as a housekeeper let Mozzie and Neal inside for the second time that day, the man spoke up first saying, "Wes, I didn't expect to see you again so soon and I see you've brought Mozzie with you this time, but why are you here again? We're not exactly good friends."

Mozzie cut in for Neal as he asked, "Well then, why did you invite him to come and look at your latest acquirement first and not me? Last time I checked, we are friends, or I thought we were."

"Of course, we are friends, Moz," Nialman replied. "I just wanted to brag a little; reminding Wes here who's the better thief."

"This house is enough, believe me, though it's a little tacky for my taste," Neal answered. "Look, Mozzie just wanted to see the painting for himself. He didn't believe me that you really secured a painting that was believed to be lost all this time. It was kind of a bet between us. Looks like I won. Where did you get it again?"

Vincent looked at Neal skeptically, then responded, "I already told you, the seller was anonymous. If you think that I was fooled into purchasing a fake, you're either not as good as you thought you were with seeing true beauty, or you're simply jealous."

Neal put his hands in the air as if to back off and replied, "No, no, I was just curious. If your seller had something as beautiful as this in his collection, I was hoping to find out what else he had and if he, or she, had anything else worth purchasing."

"I don't think he'd have anything else that you'd be interested in," Nialman answered smugly.

"Come on, Vince," Mozzie interrupted before Neal could say anything else. "It's my birthday today and I was really hoping to find the perfect thing to help make today worth celebrating. Please, you know me and you owe me. Remember, I kept you from being broken into tiny, tiny pieces by those card sharks and made you the man you are today."

Vincent groaned, then pulled Mozzie aside in order to talk to him in private, and said, "I shouldn't be doing this. I don't trust Wes and not really you either, but I hate to admit that you're right. I do owe you. The seller's name was Don Grayson. If you want to get into contact with him, I'll send you the address he gave me."

Mozzie responded, "You'd be doing me a real solid."

"Do you plan on bringing him with you?" Nialman asked.

"I don't necessarily trust him either, but the man has a better eye for priceless than I do," Mozzie replied. "He won't try to trick me with this. Out of curiosity, did you happen to meet your seller in person?"

Vince glared at Mozzie and answered, "I've said enough, now get out of here before your friend gets tempted to steal my artifacts from the spaceship crashing from Roswell."

Neal overheard him and responded, "I think the extraterrestrial crash in Roswell was real?"

"Get out, both of you!" Vincent responded. "Do it before I sick the cops on you!"

"You wouldn't unless you were willing to bring them on yourself," Neal replied.

Nialman grumbled, "Whatever, just get out, now!"

After finally leaving the man's place, Mozzie spoke up again saying, "Wow, I knew he was two baskets short of a picnic, but today he seems extra buckets of crazy. Even I know that the Roswell landing wasn't real. The ships really landed near Area 51 and are being kept under lock and key like Fort Knox."

"Okay," Neal answered oddly. "Did he give you this guy's address yet?"

"Not yet," Mozzie responded. "You know that he might not now thanks to you making fun of him. You shouldn't have done that."

It was then that Jones walked up to them after stepping out of the van parked down the street and replied, "I hate to admit it, but the odd little man is right. You should never make fun of the crazy, especially when you need them to help you out."

Mozzie got up into Jones' face and answered, "You should learn to follow your own advice, Suit Junior."

"Moz…" Neal tried to cut in.

"Don't defend him, Neal," Mozzie responded. "He doesn't deserve it."

Jones looked back at Neal and replied, "Yeah, don't worry about it, Caffrey. I know he's all talk."

Neal stepped in between the two and said, "All right, enough. Nialman will be sending Mozzie an address soon and then we can go and have a chat with our soon to be new friend, that is if Hagen hasn't gotten to him first just that no one would be around to try to contradict that his forgery isn't the real Rembrandt. We should give Peter a call and let him know what's going on now."

"I'm already on it," Jones answered as he pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Are we going to be stuck with Junior here all day?" Mozzie asked as Jones stepped away to talk. "He isn't much better, but I'd rather work with the real suit over this one. He's nicer to me, thanks to Mrs. Suit."

Neal smirked and responded, "Relax, Moz. I'm sure we'll be seeing Peter soon. Just look on the bright side, at least we're not working alone with Diana. She hates you even more than Jones does."

Mozzie shrugged and replied, "You're right. Suit Junior is better than Miss. Suit Junior.


	5. Chapter 5

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Five

By the time Jones got off of the phone with Peter, Mozzie had received the address from Vincent and together, he, Jones, and Neal headed over there. However, when they arrived, they found the door was slightly open and broken off its hinges. Jones quickly took the lead as he pulled out his glock and then moved in to search the apartment. It wasn't long before they discovered a body they could only assume was Don Grayson.

"I was hoping I'd be wrong," Neal said softly. "Hagen got to Grayson before we could."

"Yeah and something tells me that he'll probably go after your friend Vincent next," Jones responded as he once again pulled out his phone. "I'll call Peter and for a team to head over to Vincent's for his protection."

Mozzie grumbled, "He isn't going to like that much. He'll know that I'm working with you suits. I'll never be able to obtain certain trinkets that he knows how to find for me ever again."

Neal patted Mozzie on his shoulder and replied, "Sorry, Moz, but you know it's for his own good. In the end, he'll be alive, I hope. That's a little more important, don't you think?"

"Yeah right," Mozzie answered under his breath. "That's what you think. I'm not so sure."

"Okay then," Jones spoke up again as he started to dial Peter's number until he turned back to look between Mozzie and Neal. "Whatever you two do, don't touch anything. Is that understood?"

Neal raised his hands and responded, "Yes, Mom."

When Peter finally arrived just ahead of the rest of the agents and crime scene techs, the agent walked up to Neal as he was leaning back against the railing outside of the house while watching Mozzie, who was currently pacing angrily back and forth while arguing with himself, simply because it was amusing.

Peter spoke up as he asked, "What's his problem, or do I not want to know?"

"Probably not," Neal replied. "He's just a little upset that he'll no longer be able to use his old friend anymore to… well you know Mozzie."

"I know him alright," Peter answered. "It's too bad that we couldn't get here before Hagen did, but why would he want to kill the seller of the painting? What's he to him?"

Neal responded, "Hagen didn't want to risk Grayson spoiling his big plan. If he happened to see the painting after Hagen replaced the real one with his forgery, then the gig would be up."

Diana spoke up, "That sounds about right. It's a good thing that we were able to get the protection detail over to Nialman's before Hagen got to him too."

"Yes, but as I said earlier, Hagen's got men everywhere and could use one of them to take Nialman out at anytime," Peter replied. "I warned the agents watching him to keep on high alert. Let's hope Hagen doesn't see Nialman as a threat worth the risk."

"With our luck, an attack against him is pretty much inevitable," Neal stated. "Just as is an attack against us. It will come eventually, you said it yourself."

Peter walked past Neal and headed into the apartment to take a look over the crime scene for himself, followed quickly by Diana and then Neal. As they came inside, Peter and Diana saw that the man was killed with a clean shot to the head, indicating that he was easily killed from a distance.

Peter noticed the crack through the window nearby from where the bullet had sailed through and said, "Hagen's got himself a sniper. This case just got worse."

Later that night…

After sending everyone home for the night, once they were finished at the crime scene, Peter went home himself and was currently sitting down at the dining room table for dinner with his wife. However, she could see that her husband was lost in troubled thoughts as she observed him pushing his food around on his plate rather than eating it.

She finally spoke up as she asked, "You know, that food is going to get cold if you keep putting off eating it and then you're not going to want to eat it at all. I know how much you hate leftover chicken pot pie."

"Alright, what's Neal done this time?" Elizabeth tried again when Peter didn't respond to her.

"Nothing," he answered with a chuckle. "I'm sorry, Hon. It's just this case. We're going after the Dutchman again."

Elizabeth responded in surprise, "You mean Curtis Hagen? How did he escape from prison?"

Peter replied, "The same way Neal did. He managed to disguise himself as a prison guard with a little help on the inside and then has since picked himself out a new group of friends, including a well trained sniper."

"Are you worried that he'll come after Neal for what he did to bring him down?" she asked again.

"Yes, but there's more to it than that," Peter answered. "I've got my intuition telling me something worse is going on here and a knot in my stomach telling me that something worse is going to happen, but I have no clue what. I'm not just worried, El. I'm scared."

Elizabeth gently laid her hand over his and looked him in his eyes, then responded, "You're going to figure it out, Peter; you and Neal. The two of you always have, with a little help from Diana and Jones."

Peter smiled and replied, "Don't tell them that you think Neal is more important to the team than they are. I wish I was as confident as you."

"Maybe I'll just have to take the time tonight to transfer a little of my confidence over to you," Elizabeth answered as she leaned forward to kiss her husband on his lips and then moved to clear her own plate, while Peter began to eat.

"I like the way you think, Hon," Peter said between bites. "And by the way, your pot pie tonight is delicious."

She smiled back at him and responded, "I know."


	6. Chapter 6

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Six

The next morning, Peter walked into the offices and found Neal was already there sitting at his desk. It was unusual for the ex con to arrive first, which made Peter realize that something was bothering the younger man, just as something has been bothering him since last night as well.

"You don't look like you got much sleep last night," Peter said as he walked over to stand in front of Neal. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that something's not adding up," Neal answered gloomily. "Hagen's not working alone. He would be after a priceless painting and then replace it with one of his forgeries in order to draw us out so that he can take his revenge on us, but how did he learn about the Rembrandt in the first place? He has always trusted only himself with finding the jobs he took on, but this time, someone would have had to have tipped him off about it because as far as I know, he doesn't have a way of doing so from the inside."

Peter smiled and nodded, then replied, "Exactly. Do you have any clue, who would be crazy enough to help Hagen escape from prison and trust him enough to help them pull off whatever scheme their working on?"

Neal thought for a moment and responded, "No names come to mind. Hagen wasn't exactly a popular guy."

"And I wonder why," Peter joked.

"What's next?" Neal asked as he noticed Diana and Jones walking toward them.

Peter noticed them too as he answered, "We're still waiting for the lab results on our dead art seller. Hopefully, something will come up and give us a lead."

It was then that Neal's phone rang and when he saw that the number was an unknown caller, he looked between the three agents now standing with him and signaled for them to trace the call, then picked up asking, already knowing the answer, "Who is this?"

"I _have a feeling you already know the answer, don't you, Caffrey?_" the Dutchman replied smugly. "_I'm sure you expected my call sooner or later. Tell me, are Agent Burke and the rest of his cohorts standing around you, working to trace my call?_"

"So what if they are?" Neal responded. "You know it and yet you called me, so what do want?"

Curtis Hagen answered, "_I want to meet with you, alone. Do you think that you can manage to convince your bodyguards to let you out of their sight for a few minutes?_"

Neal scoffed and replied, "Not if you plan to kill me, which I know you want to do after I foiled your hard work back when we first met."

"_You're right, I do want to kill you, but there's someone that wants to see you,_" Curtis responded. "_You must agree to meet alone. Believe me, you will want to agree to my terms. It will be worth your time and the risk._"

"You trust me just about as much as I trust you," Neal said. "You're a fool if you think I would actually agree."

It was then that Hagen asked coldly, "_Would you agree to my terms if it meant that you would be saving the life of someone you care about?_"

Neal's face darkened as he asked in return, "What are you talking about? What have you done?"

"_Oh, nothing yet, but fail to show up, and completely alone, you will lose someone very close to you,_" the criminal answered. "_What do you say now, clever boy?_"

"I'll agree to your terms," Neal replied quickly as Peter shook his head in silent disagreement.

Hagen responded, "_Find a way to ditch your dogs, for real, and meet me where we first met in one hour. If I see one agent, then I you will regret it. Do I make myself clear?_"

Neal let out a frustrated sigh and finally answered, "I'll be there."

"And where exactly will you be?" Peter asked sarcastically as soon as the Dutchman hung up and Neal lowered his cell. "You won't be going anywhere and certainly not alone. What did Hagen threaten you with?"

"I have to meet with him alone, with no agents on my tail," Neal replied with a desperate, pleading look in his eyes.

Peter scoffed and responded, "You're crazy if you think I'll agree with this, no matter what he tried to bribe you with. Tell me where he wants to meet."

It was then that Neal suddenly blurted out fearfully, "I can't. I need to do this and completely without the FBI's involvement in any way. He's going to kill someone that I care about, Peter. Maybe even someone that we care about. Hagen's got a sniper working for him. If you follow me, he could take out Diana, Jones, or even you. What if he's got eyes on Elizabeth? Are you really willing to take that chance? Because I'm not; not again."

"You don't know if he even has his sniper or another one of his men on Elizabeth or his eyes on one of us," Diana answered. "He could be lying for all you know."

"He could be, but I'm not willing to risk it, are you?" Neal asked more forcefully than he intended. "Please, Peter. I can't let someone else die because of me. I can take care of myself. Besides, Hagen said that I can't have you guys with me. He doesn't know about Mozzie and even if he does, he didn't say anything about him not keeping an eye on me. You'd be surprised by how useful Moz can really be."

I hate to admit it, Peter, but I think Caffrey's right," Jones replied. "The little guy knows how to create diversions, which one would be useful should Caffrey need one to get out of trouble."

Neal spoke up again saying, "If I get the sense that I'm in danger, I promise you that I will find a way to let you know, Peter."

"Alright, I will let you do this, Neal, but I need you to promise me that you will do exactly as you've said you will and then report back to me about what Hagen's so eager to share with you as soon as you're done," Peter finally gave in. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I promise," Neal responded sincerely. "Don't worry about me. I'll be all right. Besides, I'm a con man, remember? I've got more than a few tricks up my sleeves."

Peter looked at Neal fearfully, then said, "You'd better."


	7. Chapter 7

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Seven

"You know the drill, Moz," Neal spoke up softly after the smaller man finished trying to convince his friend that going to meet with the murderous criminal without the FBI for back up was a big mistake.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know," Mozzie grumbled. "Fine, I'm done sounding like the suit anyway. I hate that I actually agree with him on something. I'll be keeping an eye on you the same way I kept an eye on that lawyer, who was in Fowler's pocket, or listening in I should say. You'll be happy to know that I think I've fixed the minor glitches that the thing had. I should be able to hear the whole conversation clearly and Hagen won't know I'm around. If anything happens, and seeing as I have a knot in my stomach indicating that something will go wrong, I'll be able to inform the suit right away."

Neal looked at his friend and responded sarcastically, "Your confidence in our plan is very encouraging, thank you."

Mozzie replied, "Yeah, I've never been a very confidant guy or an encouraging guy."

"Yeah, I know," Neal answered with a chuckle.

"Good luck, you'll need it," Mozzie said as he finally walked off to set up.

Neal watched him leave as he muttered under his breath, "Yeah, I know that too."

As Neal walked inside the church where he and Peter had first met Curtis Hagen a few years ago, the building was once again abandoned, knowing that Hagen had obviously had a hand in making it so, so that they would be able to speak in private and without interruptions. Even the priest was missing. However, it wasn't long before the criminal confidently walked up behind him, a grin planted across his face.

Hagen spoke first in his thick British accent saying, "I have to admit, I didn't think you would actually have the balls to come without your dogs."

"Yeah, well I did just as you've asked," Neal responded curtly. "I didn't come here to chit chat. You threatened someone I care about for this, so let's talk."

"I can see that you're eager to leave," the criminal replied. "Why the rush?"

Neal glared at the man now in front of him as he ignored his impertinent question and asked again, "What do you want, Hagen?"

Curtis smiled as he answered, "Not so confident now, are we Caffrey? Very well, I'll make my point. You thwarted the biggest job I've ever had set in motion and you sent me to prison for pretty much the rest of my life. However, the chance for parole in twenty-five years wasn't really good enough for me and so I found my own way out, thanks to someone that I believe you know very well. She helped me escape and believe me, I'm grateful, but I'm getting the feeling that she's using me and will soon betray me so that she'll be able to get away as she has planned to do once she gets her hands on what I suspect you already know I have, the real lost Rembrandt."

"And you need my help to get out from under her employment?" Neal asked in confusion. "I don't understand the point of this meeting. I can't help you with something like that."

"Actually no, I can deal with her just fine," Hagen responded. "What I want from you, Caffrey, is the bond that you took away from me way back then and without the FBI being aware that it was even stolen, again. If you do that for me, I will let your girlfriend live."

Neal replied, "I don't have a girlfriend and if you're talking about Alex, you can forget the threat. You won't be able to get to her. She's much too smart to let you get the drop on her."

Curtis looked into Neal's eyes to get a read on his expression and then asked, "You really don't know, do you? Well, isn't this just delightful. I do remember reading about the whole story in the paper, but I thought that you of all people would surely know the truth."

"Quit toying with me, Hagen," Neal answered coldly. "What are you talking about?"

"On second thought, I think I will keep that little secret to myself, at least for now," the criminal responded. "Why spoil the surprise? However, you better do as I ask, without your 'friend' knowing that you have stolen the bond, or you will learn the truth the hard way when you and he find the body. Do I make myself…?"

Before Curtis Hagen could finish his sentence, a shot was suddenly fired from above them, somewhere from the churches balcony, causing both criminal and ex con to duck between the pews for cover. As they did so, Hagen let out a painful growl, indicating that he had been hit, but before Neal could stop him, the criminal started running as he drew his own weapon and began shooting several rounds for cover fire.

As he did so, Curtis shouted out to the hit man, "You bloody bastard! I hired you to work for me, not for her. I swear I will kill you!"

Neal tried calling out for Hagen to stop, but he managed to get out of the church without getting hit again and the initial shooter disappeared, leaving Neal alone. Knowing that Mozzie would have heard the shots being fired and would take it as a sign that he should call Peter, Neal took off after Hagen in hope that he could track him down so that by the time the FBI caught up to them, they would be able to arrest Hagen once again and Neal wouldn't have to steal the bond as the Dutchman asked.

He managed to chase Hagen until they reached an office building that was sixty stories tall, which was when Neal lost sight of him. However, thanks to the blood drops from the Dutchman's wound on the floors, Neal quickly picked up his trail and continued to run through the halls trying to find him, not really thinking about his own safety should he manage to catch up to him.

As Caffrey expected his friend to do, Mozzie had called Peter to alert him to the sounds of gunfire and when Peter, Jones, Diana, and the rest of the agents finally arrived outside of the building, Mozzie came running up to them and shouted, "Neal chased the Dutchman inside the office building! I tried to call out to him to stop, but he didn't hear me, or he was ignoring me, but whatever. He's going to get himself killed."

"Not if I can help it," Peter said as he and the others ran inside to find their friend and their fugitive, splitting up in hope to find them faster.

It wasn't long after they all entered the building that the men and women that worked there began to run out around him and the agents in terror and Peter finally caught up to Neal, but it wasn't long before they were both separated again after being shot at by Hagen, whom they had lost sight of briefly, causing them to have to split off onto different floors, despite Peter's strong objections, to continue the search.

Peter caught sight of the blood trail once again and followed them up the stairs until he suddenly heard two gunshots being fired from a floor somewhere above where he was currently standing, both only moments apart, causing Peter to run faster toward where the sounds of the shots had come from on the twelfth floor, fearing that the shots meant what he dreaded might happen one day. As he ran, Peter shouted out his friend's name, hoping he was wrong and that Neal had managed to escape from trouble as he always had.

However, as soon as he arrived on the right floor and rounded a corner through the hallway, Peter found Neal on the floor unconscious with two bullet wounds, one to the right side of his upper chest and the second having grazed the left side of his forehead, blood pooling out onto the floor beneath him.

"Shots fired; man down, man down!" Peter quickly shouted out into his phone as he rushed to kneel down at Neal's side, then dropped the cell so that he could press his hands against the chest wound in order to help stifle the blood flow until the paramedics could get to them, as he could see that Neal was still breathing, though barely. "Come on, hang in there, Neal. I've got you. Don't you dare die on me now! You're way too cocky to let Hagen get the better of you. Come on!"


	8. Chapter 8

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Eight

About forty minutes later, paramedics were finally rushing Neal into the ER after working to stabilize him and then loading him into the ambulance. Peter stayed by his side the entire time and only finally stopped once he reached where he was no longer permitted to go; into the operating room. It wasn't long afterward that Diana, Jones, and Mozzie, who was on edge as he came into the hospital, walked up to the senior agent and began to ask questions about what had happened when Neal had been shot.

"Do you have any idea what happened in there, Peter?" Diana asked. "Or have any idea why Hagen shot him, or if he even did?"

"I don't know," Peter answered. "It doesn't make any sense. Hagen could have shot Neal at any time during their meeting inside the church. Why wait until we were chasing after him through a sixty story office building?"

Jones replied, "Or why did he even run from Neal in the first place? Neal doesn't carry a gun on him."

It was then that Mozzie suddenly spoke up saying, "There was another shooter. You know, it's your fault Neal's even in this place now. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't be in this mess. I told him this would happen."

"I need you to focus right now, Moz," Peter responded. "We can talk about blame later once we know how Neal's doing and believe me, I know that I messed up, but right now, I need you to tell me everything that you heard from their conversation at the church."

"The conversation was going fine, well kind of fine," Mozzie began. "I mean, the Dutchman wasn't saying much of anything except for things to aggravate Neal."

Diana looked at Mozzie as she asked, "What kind of things?"

Mozzie began to pace as he answered, "Things such as, he was surprised Neal had the guts to show up without his dogs, meaning you three, he wanted to know why Neal was in such a hurry, but then he finally got to the point and asked Neal to steal him back the bond that the Dutchman was trying to forge during yours and Neal's first case together, oh and without you or the FBI being aware that Neal had done so."

"Hagen's after the bond again?" Jones stated in surprise. "That's pretty ballsy, even for a smug bastard like him."

"That's what I thought too," Mozzie continued. "Anyway, then Hagen started to talk about his escape from prison and how he had an accomplice that helped him, but that he was getting nervous that 'she' was going to betray him the first chance she got once she didn't need his help anymore. I think the bond is what the Dutchman was hoping to use as his way out. Oh, and he does indeed have the real Rembrandt, or so he claims, which is what 'she' wants. It sounded like he is using the painting as leverage in order to keep himself alive until he doesn't need to anymore."

Diana spoke up again as she asked, "Hagen never mentioned, who 'she' was?"

Mozzie shook his head and replied, "Nope, but that was when their conversation began to get a little more heated."

"How so?" Peter asked.

"Hagen threatened Neal's girlfriend, for which Neal stated he didn't have, Alex's name was brought up briefly as Neal said that if that was who Hagen was talking about, he would never be able to get the drop on her, and then he said something about Neal not knowing the truth about something," Mozzie responded. "Hagen started to boast a little and then stated that if Neal continued to refuse to steal the bond back for him, then he would learn the truth the hard way when he and the rest of you suits find the body."

Peter, Diana, and Jones looked at each other in confusion and then Peter said, "I don't understand. I have no clue what Hagen's talking about. There's no big secret that we've been keeping from Neal and everyone that he cares about are either here safe and sound, or they're far away and on the run. Of course, we still have to worry about the sniper targeting one of…"

Mozzie quickly interrupted, "I was getting to that. I'm not finished with the story yet. Before Hagen could say much more, shots were suddenly fired from somewhere within the church and I believe I heard the Dutchman growl as he had taken a hit somewhere. However, he suddenly drew his own weapon and began firing cover shots in order to get away as he shouted, 'You bloody bastard! I hired you to work for me, not for her. I swear, I will kill you!' Then, he was gone and so was the initial shooter. That was when I called you. I tried to shout out for Neal to stop going after him, but…"

"Neal entered the office building, but he stayed back while still trying to trail Hagen until I arrived," Peter spoke up again, cutting Mozzie off. "However, we split up again when we lost his trail in order to cover more ground. I don't remember, who suggested it. If it was me, then I'll regret it for the rest of my life, but it wasn't long after that I heard two more shots and I knew Neal was in trouble. When I found him, he was alone and unconscious on the ground with a shot to his right upper chest and another, which only grazed the left side of his forehead. He was losing a lot of blood. I have no idea what the extent of the damage is. I just did everything I could to keep him stable until the paramedics finally arrived."

"This isn't your fault, Peter," Diana answered sincerely. "You both did what you felt you had to do. Neal knew the risks. We'll figure everything out, but for now, I'll go work on getting the security tapes throughout the building and hopefully, they'll have caught footage of Neal's shooting and his shooter."

Jones replied, "And I'll go with some of our guys to talk with the witnesses throughout the building. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have seen something that can be of help to us. Keep us informed of Caffrey's condition?'

Peter nodded as he responded, "I will. Both of you, be thorough in your searches. We can't risk missing anything on this. I want Hagen, his sniper, and his accomplice all brought in as soon as possible."

"You've got it, boss," both Diana and Jones answered together.

"I hate hospitals, but I'm staying here with you, to make sure that the doctors don't try to do anything that they shouldn't be doing, like implanting some kind of chip into Neal's chest or something," Mozzie said curtly.

Peter stared at the shorter man and then replied, "You watch way too many science fiction or horror movies. The doctors won't do anything, but do whatever they can to save Neal's life."

Mozzie responded, "So you say, suit, but I know better."

Peter just shook his head, then ran his hands over his face and head in frustration and weariness, until he looked around and noticed his wife as she came running toward him. She leaned up and kissed him as tears ran down her face and then looked him over to make sure he was all right. Shock became apparent on her face as he realized that she was now staring fearfully at the blood that was now covering his hands and suit. Peter quickly assured her that none of the blood was his own and then walked away from Mozzie to speak somewhere with her in private about everything that happened.

Everyone knew that it was going to be a long wait before they would find out any news on their friend's condition, but Peter was grateful to have his wife by his side to help him keep his mind focused on the task at hand; making sure that Neal was safe as long as he was vulnerable.


	9. Chapter 9

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Nine

After waiting for a little over three hours, Peter, who had gone to clean himself up the best he could shortly after his wife arrived, Elizabeth, and Mozzie still had yet to hear word from the doctors about Neal. During that time, Mozzie had kept on pacing back and forth until Peter could no longer tolerate his irritability and finally told him to leave to go get them some coffee or to at least take his pacing outside.

Elizabeth leaned in to rest her head and upper body across her husband's chest as he held her, which he was grateful for as it helped him to suppress his fear for his friend for awhile. As she lay there, she began to talk about the days when the two of them had begun to get to know Neal and Peter eventually joined in. The stories they shared caused Peter to laugh and others helped to remind him why he had come to respect and care for the con man. It was a friendship that came unexpectedly, but despite everything they've been through over the years, came quite easily as well and it wasn't just the charm that radiated off of him.

Neal wasn't a typical con man. All of the ones Peter had ever met in the past didn't care about who they hurt in order to obtain whatever it was they were after, but Neal wasn't like that at all. He had heart and he cared about the impact his cons would play on those that he played the con on. Most of those he manipulated were criminals themselves. Yes, Neal Caffrey was a thief, a forger, and a white collar criminal, but for over three years now he has used his skills to help people and to save lives, regardless of the danger their cases put him in. And Peter knew that if it ever came to it, Neal would even take a bullet to save his life, just as Peter realized he would do for Neal.

Elizabeth soon just continued to rest against Peter while he remained lost in his thoughts. Mozzie eventually came back inside the waiting room and handed both of them a coffee to help them with the wait. Finally, a doctor walked out after another couple of hours passed by and stood before them, blood covering his white coat and scrubs; Neal's blood.

Peter gently moved out from under his wife and stood up as he asked quietly, "How is he doing?"

The doctor's face was tired and his expression was grim as he responded, "You're friend is very lucky. The bullet in his chest didn't hit anything vital, but it did cause a pneumothorax, which is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space that separates the lung and the chest wall, interfering with his normal breathing. We've inserted a chest tube connected to a one-way valve system, which will help to extract the air. The wound has also caused him to lose a lot of blood. We've given him a transfusion to help replenish the loss and will probably have to give him another one later on to be safe."

"What about the second bullet wound, the one that grazed his head?" Elizabeth asked fearfully.

"The bullet broke through the skin and grazed his skull, but the fracture is mild," the doctor answered. "The wound doesn't appear to be bad. However, head trauma can be tricky. We've cleaned the wound and bandaged it the best we could, but until he wakes up, we won't know the extent of the damage done."

As the doctor was explaining Neal's injuries, Peter noticed Diana and Jones walking back into the waiting room, and when the doctor finished, Peter spoke up again saying, "Thank you, doctor. I'll need you to keep me informed on his condition and know that we'll be having agents posted outside his room at all times once you move him in for protection. The people that are responsible for doing this to him are still out there."

The man nodded as he replied, "Of course. Good luck."

"What little I just heard as I walked in didn't sound so good," Diana said as she and Jones walked over to their boss, Elizabeth, and Mozzie. "How's he doing?"

"He's holding his own," Peter responded in hope of reassuring those around him, as well as himself, that Neal was going to be all right. "Were you able to find anything out from the surveillance videos?"

Diana took a deep breath, then let it back out and answered, "Yes and no. The cameras caught everything that went down, except for the identity of the second shooter. Whoever it was, was wearing a baseball cap in order to keep their face hidden and was wearing some kind of hoodie beneath their jacket, almost making it impossible to tell whether or not it was a man or woman, except that there was a ponytail sticking out of the hat. I'm guessing the second shooter was a woman, unless it's a man with long hair, which I doubt. The other shooter was definitely Hagen."

Peter looked at Diana in surprise as he asked, "Wait, are you saying that Neal was shot twice, each shooter taking a single shot?"

"I'll show you the footage later when you're ready, but yes, it looks that way," Diana replied. "It shows Hagen running through the hallway until he runs into the second shooter, who appeared to be on her way out. Hagen raises his gun to try to fire on her, but she's fast and manages to block the shot. However, Hagen doesn't give up trying to kill her and they quickly get into a scuffle before she can pull out her own weapon. She is overpowered by Hagen and forced up against a wall with his gun almost aimed directly at her head, but it's then that Neal comes around the corner and freezes briefly until he rushes over to the struggle and pulls Hagen off of her. Neal manages to hold his own in his fight with Hagen, but is eventually knocked back into the wall hard himself, giving Hagen a clear shot at his chest. As soon as the shot is fired, Neal collapses to the floor and Hagen takes off running away, forgetting about the woman."

"But it doesn't end there," Peter states sadly.

Jones continues, "Unfortunately no. I was able to watch the footage on the way back here. Neal's still conscious and struggles to move as he's staring up at the woman. I can't make out his expression, but he doesn't appear to try to back away, just tries to sit up. A half a minute later, she suddenly raises her gun and fires the second shot and then runs out of the camera's view after Hagen, probably to get out of the building before she's caught. You come around the corner just a few seconds later and Neal's, well you know where we're at now."

Tears are slowly falling from her eyes as Elizabeth softly cries, "Oh God! I don't understand, why would Neal rush into the fight to help the woman?"

"Because he knew her," Peter responded coldly. "He was trying to help her, believing that she wasn't a threat to him. Maybe that was what Hagen meant about someone he cared about being in danger, but it doesn't explain why she shot him."

"Why would Neal care about someone, who is bad enough to help scum like Hagen escape from prison and then become his accomplice in the theft of the Rembrandt painting?" Elizabeth asked. "He's better than that."

Peter looked over at Mozzie and asked, "Do you have any idea who our mystery woman could be? Is there anyone from your pasts, who could be capable of all this, maybe Alex?"

Mozzie shook his head and answered, "No way. Alex is a lot of things and would do a lot to get her hands on priceless artifacts, but killing Neal is not among them. In her own twisted way, she does care for him. Besides, last I heard, she was off somewhere in Mumbai or Mongolia, or somewhere like that doing something."

"Send all the footage to my laptop," Peter finally replied as he turned back to Diana and Jones. "It's in my car. If you could have one of the agents drive it here to the hospital, seeing as it's still parked outside of the office building. I'll take a look at the footage later. I want to check in on Neal first once he's moved into his room."

"Sure thing, Peter," Diana responded.

Peter then turned to Jones and asked, "Were you able to get anything from the witnesses that could help us?"

Jones shook his head and answered, "They were all too busy trying to run away from the gunfire to notice anything and before that, none of them noticed anyone suspicious walking throughout the building. You would think seeing someone wearing a baseball cap and a hoodie underneath her jacket would seem a little out of place."

"Yeah," Peter replied and then looked over at his wife. "Why don't you go home with Diana so that you can get yourself something to eat and then go to bed? You look exhausted. An agent can take care of the car later or I can. I'm afraid I'm going to be here awhile. I can't leave him, not for now."

"Then, I'm staying here with you," Elizabeth responded firmly as she leaned into Peter's arms for a hug. "I care for Neal too. Besides, he doesn't have anyone else besides us."

Mozzie spoke up again saying, "Don't worry about the food. I'll take care of that. If Neal could be here for me when I was shot, I suppose I can try to do the same for him. I'll be back."

Peter smiled as he left the waiting room, then looked back at his two best agents, and said, "I know it's been a long day and you're both tired, but…"

"Don't worry, boss," Jones answered. "We'll keep working."

"Thank you," Peter replied.


	10. Chapter 10

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Ten

Later that night, Curtis Hagen angrily stormed up the stairs of the rundown complex he had found a vacant apartment to squat in for as long as he was going to be in the city, expecting to be alone, but as soon as he entered inside the mostly empty space, he was greeted by the site of his hired sniper's dead body on the now bloodstained floor. The criminal pulled out his gun as he moved toward the body, but as he did so, the sound of another gun being cocked behind him caused him to stop and spin around, suddenly coming face to face with the woman who had helped his break from prison days before.

The woman spoke up first as she said coldly, "I warned you not to harm him. I helped you escape prison because I needed your expertise, but part of our deal was that you don't try to take your vengeance out on Neal. You lied to me!"

Hagen looked at her smugly and replied, "First of all darling, I didn't go to meet with Neal with the intention of killing him, as much as I really wanted to the moment I saw his cocky smile. I met with him because I wanted something from him. I knew that you would try to have me killed eventually, as soon as your use for me was finished and it turns out, I was right. However, Caffrey and his dogs in the FBI were closing in. I had no choice, but to shoot him so that I could make my escape. I knew that they would be more concerned with helping him in the moment, then fully chasing me down. And second, I couldn't help, but hear the sound of a second gunshot as I fled the scene. I watched as your boy was being brought out on a gurney, that agent friend of his staying close by his side, and seeing as you're here and not in FBI custody, one can only assume that in order to escape and to keep your dirty little secret, you were the one that made that second shot. Am I right, darling?"

"I did what I had to do," the woman responded as she raised the gun directly in Hagen's face. "My shot wasn't fatal. It was just enough to graze him and to keep him from remembering, well hopefully from remembering at least the last twenty-four hours."

"When did you become such an expert?" Hagen asked.

His accomplice answered, "I've had years of practice. I've been in hiding and have had to protect myself from many foul creatures such as you."

Hagen continued holding his weapon down at his side as he calmly replied, "If you're going to shoot me, shoot me now. You're obviously finished with my services. After all, you did receive the painting for which I was hired to procure for you."

"I thought I was," the woman responded in frustration. "I wish I was, except that you foolishly tried to double cross me. You not only replaced the stolen painting at Nialman's home with a forgery like I asked, but you gave me a forgery as well. Did you really think that I wouldn't notice?"

"I realize now that I underestimated your skills, my dear," Curtis answered. "I had a plan in place to finish you off as well, but as it turns out, my sniper tried to double cross me. You obviously have deep pockets."

Hagen's accomplice replied, "I didn't pay him more money to kill you. He did that on his own, probably expecting to take the real Rembrandt for himself. You should make better friends. I could kill you, but I want the real painting. Once you're free and clear to leave the country, you'll have plenty of opportunities to rebuild your enterprises and fortune, just as I will, but this one belongs to me. It is the price you owe me for your freedom."

Hagen nodded and responded, "Very well, the painting is yours, but it isn't here. You'll have to trust me enough to have it sent to you by courier."

"I can do that, but Hagen, I'm warning you right now," the woman answered as she placed the gun's barrel up against the back of his head and cocked back the hammer once more. "If you double cross me again, I will kill you. Unlike you, I've got friends I can trust. Once I get the painting, the same courier you send will return to you with your payment and the papers needed for a one way trip out of this country. Oh, and one more thing, leave Neal alone. There's already a chance that he won't survive your bullet, but if he does, I want him to remain unharmed. Do I make myself clear?"

"I understand," Curtis replied. "I am a bit baffled by your love for him, seeing as you're someone who coldly shot Caffrey in the head just hours ago."

She lowered her gun and turned to leave his apartment as she responded, "Not that it's any of your business, but it isn't love that I feel for Neal. Now, it's just admiration. After all, he taught me a lot of what I know."

Hagen nodded and said, "You can keep telling yourself that, love, if it will help you sleep at night, but I think we both know that isn't true. If he does live, he will eventually learn every evil thing you've done once he and the FBI finish with this dead end of a case. Neal Caffrey, once the perfect con and thief, now grown soft and worthless, will never see you the way you wish him to see you again."

Expecting to get some kind of response, Hagen was surprised to find that his accomplice in his prison break was gone when he finally turned around half a minute later after receiving nothing after his jibe. The criminal shook his head and then finally turned and began to stare down at the body of the traitor he had hired for his own protection.

"At least she saved me the trouble of having to track you down and of having to take care of you myself," Hagen muttered under his breath as he walked over to the chair he had set up in the apartment and took a seat, then pulled out his cell and began to search for a number within his contacts. "At least I have other friends, whom I know I can at least trust enough to take care of what's left of you. You bloody bastard."


	11. Chapter 11

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Eleven

A little after eight o'clock the next morning, Peter walked wearily into the office expecting to be the first one to arrive for work that day, only to find that not only were his boss, Reese Hughes, Diana and Jones there, but that all of the other agents that worked on his team were there as well and obviously had been, due to the number of coffee cups and snacks strewn across the conference table, since the shooting. Peter realized that he never really knew until now how much his boss and teammates all liked and respected Neal too and he couldn't help, but smile.

Hughes was the first one to see Peter as both agents arrived at the coffee pots at the same time to refill their mugs and the older man spoke first saying, "Morning, Peter. How's Caffrey holding up?"

Peter wiped his hand through his hair as he answered, "He's still unconscious, but he's holding his own. Elizabeth's still there with him. I tried to convince her to go home and get some rest, but she won't listen to me. Surprisingly, Mozzie's still there too."

"That is a surprise," Peter's boss responded as both men finally walked into the conference room.

"I want to thank you all for staying over to help me work on this case," Peter said as he looked around the table at his friends. "You're working above and beyond and I promise you, your hard work won't go unappreciated. As I was telling Jones just now, Neal is still unconscious, but the doctors are optimistic that he'll be all right."

One of the agents nodded as he replied, "Thank God."

Peter chuckled as he answered, "I'm a little more inclined to believe in God's existence now, then I was yesterday, that's for sure. Were you able to discover anything new since yesterday that will help us track down Neal's attackers?"

"The ballistics came back about a half an hour ago, thanks to a couple of the lab techs sticking with us as well, and they managed to get a positive match on the blood left behind, which we already concluded was obviously Hagen thanks to the surveillance footage," Diana responded. "The blood trail was marked pretty clearly and they were able to find where Hagen finally escaped the office building from and probably our unknown female shooter as well."

"After watching the videos more closely and looking at more than just the shootings themselves, we were still unable to uncover the woman's identity," Jones continued. "The hat she wore to keep her face hidden from the cameras well and unfortunately, she never looked up as she ran through the halls. Hagen on the other hand, was all over the place. Once we catch him, we certainly won't have a problem with proving that he was involved in any of this, that's for sure."

Peter replied, "Good, the more evidence we've got, the less of a case Hagen's lawyers will have. Now all we have to do is find him. Diana, were you able to confirm that Alex Hunter was not in the country yesterday, at least not by any conventional means?"

Diana shook her head and answered, "Unless she knows someone that can sneak her out without using the airports of shipyards, she isn't here, boss. We've searched all the databases we've got access too."

"After everything that went down during the whole treasure fiasco, I didn't think it would be her, but I just needed to be sure," Peter responded. "She's a lot of things, but a murderer… I can't believe it. Were the lab techs able to find anything else? I mean, did our mystery woman leave behind any prints anywhere throughout the building? Why was she even there in the first place?"

"The footage shows our girl entering the building through the same doors Hagen entered, just seconds after he did, but then she took another route throughout in order to catch him off guard, which it looks like she did. It just wasn't enough of a surprise," Diana replied as she turned on the video footage to show Peter and the others what she's explaining. "As we can see, Hagen was able to overpower her pretty quickly until Neal arrives and tries to pull him off of her. I'm just wondering why he didn't try to take another shot at her after he shot Neal. Why just take off if she was there to kill him?"

Jones answered, "Maybe the shock of shooting Caffrey made him forget about her, or maybe he figured that she would forget about him while she stopped to help Neal and would eventually get caught by us. After all, she and Neal knew each other. Hagen must have known that."

As Peter replays the footage before Neal gets into the criminals' fight, he responded, "Yeah, I think you're right. And I'm guessing that our woman was eavesdropping on Neal and Hagen's conversation within the church somehow, which explains why she took off after Hagen to try to kill him and caught up to him so quickly. She knew that he had double crossed her. Great work everyone and thank you again. Unfortunately, there's nothing more that can be done now. We've got an APB out on Hagen, but until something more comes up… Go home and get some sleep, all of you. Take the rest of the day off. I'll see you tomorrow morning unless we get a new lead, in which case, I will let you know."

"Are you going to catch some sleep too, boss?" Diana asked as the others, except for Hughes, got up to leave around them.

"Yeah, I'm going to try," Peter replied. "But I'm heading back to the hospital and I'll try to sleep there. There's an extra bed in Neal's room. That way, I can hopefully be there for when he wakes up and can send my wife home to sleep and Mozzie too. He'll become even more irritable if he stays there much longer and we'll never hear the end of it."

Reese tried to object as he said, "There are guards posted outside his room and surely June would be happy to stay with him so that you can go and get better sleep than what you can possibly get at a hospital."

Peter nodded as he answered, "You're right, but Neal's my responsibility and he's my friend. I have to be there. Don't worry, Sir, I'll be fine."

"I know you will," Reese responded. "Just don't overdo it or you'll be too tired to take down our criminals when the time comes. Get some sleep."

"All right and thanks, Reese," Peter replied. "I appreciate that you're here too."

Hughes nodded at Peter as he spoke up again saying, "Yeah well, I think Caffrey's become more than just a consultant to our team now. Don't ever tell him I said that, or he'll think he can get away with a whole lot more than he already does, but he's a good man. He's proved himself more than I ever thought he would."

Peter smiled and said, "I know what you mean, Sir."


	12. Chapter 12

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Twelve

Almost two days passed since Neal had been shot. Neal had yet to wake and the FBI were no closer to finding out who the mystery woman was, or where Curtis Hagen was hiding. Over the past forty hours, turns sitting at Neal's bedside were taken between Peter, Elizabeth, Mozzie, Diana, and June. The hospital was quiet and so far, there had been no other attempts on Neal's life.

Both Peter and his wife arrived back at the hospital, after finally being able to get some proper sleep in their own home, to find June sitting beside Neal as she read to him stories from her late husband, Byron's, journal, stories from the good old days June always called them. After finishing reading the one she had been in the middle of, she stood up and left, leaving the Burkes alone with Neal once again. Over the next hour as they sat beside one another and quietly talked about anything other than the case, as the lack of leads was making Peter feel on edge, a nurse walked in to check on Neal's vitals, but aside from the one interruption, the room was eerily quiet. Only the sounds of the machines the younger man was hooked to could be heard when the talking between Peter and Elizabeth stopped.

Before the second hour came around, Neal finally, slowly, began to come around and as he groggily looked around the room, his eyes finally stopped on Peter, who leaned forward and rested his hand gently on Neal's arm. Neal appeared to be startled and confused as he quickly pulled his arm away, then attempted to pull the tube that was attached to him, but Elizabeth stopped him before he could.

She was the first to speak saying, "It's all right, Neal. You're safe."

Peter quickly added, "You're in the hospital."

"Peter… ow," Neal replied coarsely as the pain finally hit him when he tried to move again, gently moving his hand over the small bandage that covered his head wound. "What happened? Why… why does everything hurt?"

"You were shot twice while trying to catch Hagen," Peter answered calmly, realizing that Neal had no memory of what happened over at least the last few days. "You don't remember any of this, do you?"

Neal was trying to recall what Peter was telling him as he responded, "Hagen? I don't… you mean… Curtis Hagen, the Dutchman?"

Peter nodded as he replied, "Yeah, the one and the same. Unfortunately, he's not in prison anymore thanks to some mystery woman, who helped him to escape almost a week ago now."

"A week?" Neal asked in surprise. "Why can't I remember any of this and just how long have I been here?"

"You've only been here for a few days," Elizabeth answered despondently. "One of the bullets hit you in the side of your head, where the bandage is covering. The doctors say that the bullet only caused a small fracture in your skull, which wasn't nearly as serious as it could have been, but it was obviously enough to cause some memory loss."

Peter continued, "The second bullet hit you in the right side of your upper chest. I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say, you're lucky to be alive."

Elizabeth noticed Neal grimace as the pain was slowly becoming too much for him, then stood up from her chair as she said, "I'm going to go talk with the doctors. I'm sure that they'll be able to give you something more for the pain now that you're awake."

"Thanks," Neal responded softly as she gave him a small smile and then left the room.

"I always figured I would end up getting shot again one day," Neal spoke up again as he uneasily lay his head back against the pillows behind him, trying to cope with the increasing pain. "I just… I just never expected it to be like this."

Peter nodded and replied, "I should have protected you better. This shouldn't have happened. If I had just not suggested or agreed to split up, I…"

Neal quickly interrupted, "Peter, this isn't your fault. I knew the risks."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Peter asked, ignoring Neal's attempt to assure him that the blame for all of this didn't lie with him.

"You know it's funny, I remember nearly getting shot while we were saving the designer of the high valued vest with the defense technology," Neal answered with a small chuckle and then quickly became serious again. "Then, I remember going home that night and getting your phone call telling me that Sam is really my father, but that doesn't matter right now. I don't want to see him and I don't want him to come here to try and talk. We need to focus on trying to catch Hagen right now."

Peter nodded and responded, "Unfortunately, Hagen's not the only one we're after. A few days ago, you brought me a case involving a forgery of a long lost Rembrandt, which you had quickly discovered to be a forgery that was done by Curtis Hagen. We found out that he escaped from prison with the help from an unknown accomplice, but Hagen soon became suspicious that she, his accomplice, was going to try to turn on him after she got her hands on the real painting, which he still had. So, Hagen arranged a meeting with you, asking that you come without me or any other agents. I never should have agreed, but eventually we caught up to you as a gunfight broke out and continued to chase down Hagen together. Somehow, you and I got separated again though before we could find him and I don't remember why we separated, but while we were, you found Hagen, who was fighting against the woman we believe to be his accomplice. Unfortunately, we have no idea, who she is, as she was wearing a hat to hide her face from the cameras throughout the building. However, according to the surveillance footage, when you came upon them, you recognized her. You saw, who she was and you rushed in to help her against Hagen, as he had overpowered her in their fight, but Hagen was able to overpower you too and got a shot off, shooting you in the chest, causing you to collapse to the ground, then he ran away."

Neal looked back at Peter as he stated, "But I was shot twice?"

"Yes, the footage also shows you attempting to sit up as you're staring up at the woman," Peter replied wearily. "You didn't back away because it's obvious you didn't think of her as a threat, but it was then that she quickly pulled up her gun and fired the second shot that hit you in the head. We have no idea, who this woman is, Neal, and now that memory is locked away somewhere in the back of your mind. We need you to remember what happened."

"Believe me, I want to remember," Neal spoke up again after a few moments of remaining silent as the younger man struggled to imagine the memories that just weren't coming to him. "My mind is drawing a blank."

It was then that a doctor walked into the room and began to look over Neal's medical chart before doing anything more, then said, "It's good to see you're awake, Mr. Caffrey. Mrs. Burke has informed me that you're in some pain?"

Neal turned away from the doctor, as well as Peter and Elizabeth, who had walked in behind the doctor, and then answered, "A little, but I don't want any more of whatever the drugs are you've been giving me, or anything else."

"Neal, I…" Peter started to say until he was quickly cut off.

"No, the drugs will only make my mind even more scrambled than it already is," Neal interrupted as he closed his eyes tightly to help against the pain. "I need to focus. I have to remember and soon, or we're going to lose both Hagen and the woman, that is if we haven't already. Once they've finished whatever transactions they're here for, they're gone and then we may lose them for good."

Elizabeth responded, "Let the FBI worry about all that, Neal. You can't ignore the pain and hope that it will eventually go away, just so that you can think a little clearer."

The doctor quickly added, "She's right. Without the medication I'm trying to give you, you'll only become worse off."

Neal ignored them as he once again began to try to get up until Peter gently moved in to push him back down against the bed as he indicated to the doctor to go ahead and inject the drugs into the IVs that ran along his arms from the bags of fluids hanging above his bed and down through the needles that were injected into both of his wrists. After a few seconds, Neal could no longer fight against Peter as the drugs began to take affect and then caused him to slowly drift into an uneasy sleep.

"I was only trying to help Neal remember," Peter said sadly as he slowly released his hold against him. "I never meant for him to refuse help."

"He'll be all right as long as he allows me to treat him," the doctor replied. "And in time, his memories should come back. Call me if he needs anything."

Elizabeth thanked the doctor as he left the room and then turned back toward her husband to see him staring down at Neal with anger etched across his face as he spoke up again saying, "I want to get these guys, El. I've never wanted to bring down other criminals as badly as I want to find them."

His wife answered softly, "I know and don't worry, you will. I know you better than anyone. You won't give up, no matter what."

"Do you really believe that?" Peter asked.

"You know I do," she responded confidently and then leaned forward and kissed him. "Everything's going to be fine."


	13. Chapter 13

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Thirteen

Shortly after the incident at the hospital, Peter left to head back to the office, while Elizabeth stayed behind with Neal while he slept under sedation. As Peter walked inside his office, Diana walked in behind him and handed him her report on the shooting, as well as a copy of the forensics report as he had requested earlier.

As she did so, Diana spoke up saying, "So, I heard from Elizabeth that Neal woke up. She called me just after you left. I'm glad he's all right."

Peter nodded solemnly and then responded, "Yeah, me too. I just… I…"

"He's going to remember," she interrupted, as she had a feeling she knew what her boss was trying to say. "And Neal's not going to blame you for anything. You aren't at fault, Peter. I'm sure you're wife has already told you all this and she's right."

"I know," Peter replied. "I just want to be able to put those responsible for what happened to him back in prison so that he'll be able to worry about getting better and not about trying to remember getting shot by not only Hagen, but also some woman that he knew and apparently trusted. What if this destroys him? We're finally at a really good standing point in our partnership and friendship. I don't want to see him lose everything he's worked so hard to accomplish."

Diana smiled softly as she answered, "If that happens, then you'll just fight to help bring him back, and you will. We all will, but don't worry. Neal's strong. If he can get through everything else he's been through, then he can get through this too. Cheer up, boss man."

It was then that Jones rushed into the office as he called out, "We've got a dead body down at the docks. Witnesses say that they saw three men dumping the body, one of whom matching Hagen's description."

"Excellent," Peter responded as he rushed out the door, quickly followed by his teammates. "I want complete control of the crime scene and make sure that no one does anything to tamper with whatever the evidence that's there. This may be the last lead we get to catch Hagen."

"It looks like the press are already lining up to get their next big story," Jones continued as he read a message on his phone sent to him by one of his friends from the crime lab, already down at the scene."

Peter looked back at Jones through the rearview mirror as he started driving toward the docks and replied, "Get a hold of the officers on scene and tell them to be sure to keep the vultures back. They're not to print or report a word about the body, especially about anything that may tip Hagen off that the FBI are on to his involvement."

Jones did so as Diana spoke up again as she asked, "Did you want me helping out with the scene itself or talking with the witnesses when we get there?"

"I need you talking with the witnesses," Peter answered. "No offenses to Jones, but you're much better with them than he is. And Diana, thank you, for your reassurance."

"That's what I'm here for," she said. "Well, mostly what I'm here for. The rest is a piece of cake."

Fifteen minutes later, they finally arrived and the three agents swiftly walked through the bystanders and press surrounding the scene, ignoring all the questions being called out to them. Diana did her job as Peter instructed, while he and Jones bent down to get a look at the body beneath the white sheet covering him. It was bloated and sickening to look at, but despite the distortions, it was obvious to them that this man was killed by a shot to the head.

Peter spoke up saying, "What do you want to bet our man here was shot by our mystery woman? Head shots appear to be her specialty."

Jones nodded as he responded, "Maybe the witnesses got a look at her, that is if she was one of the others dumping the body with Hagen."

"One can only hope," Peter replied as he stood back up and looked around at the officers surrounding them until one of them walked over to them holding what looked like the dead man's wallet.

"Sir, we managed to find this man's wallet in his pants pocket," the officer said as he handed it over to the agent in charge. "The papers and money that was left inside are soaked through, but everything else seems intact, including the license and credit cards. It doesn't look like this was a robbery gone bad."

Peter looked through the items in the wallet as he stated, "Our suspected shooters aren't looking for pocket change, officer."

Jones stood up beside Peter as well as he asked, "Our man got a name?"

"Dom Higgins," Peter answered a she pulled out one of the cards inside the wallet to show Jones. "It looks like Hagen decided to end his business with his hired sniper, which makes sense seeing as the man tried to kill him at the church. Either that or our mystery woman took him out for failing to kill him. Higgins was a well trained military man, who obviously got sloppy and let his guard down."

"Men like this usually do end up dead," Jones responded. "Let's hope Diana can get something to help us from one of the witnesses."

Diana walked up behind Jones as she replied, "It just so happens, I've got a definite confirmation from both witnesses that Hagen was one of the men that dumped our body. I showed them his picture. Unfortunately, neither of them got a good look at the others with him, not even enough to tell if one of them was a woman."

Peter cursed, then stated, "I knew we wouldn't have that much luck. I'm going to head home for the night. If the two of you could make sure that our sniper here gets back with the coroner all right, then feel free to head home yourselves. Keep your phones on though should something come up. I'll be in touch."

"You don't think our shooter will try anything, do you?" Diana asked.

"I have no idea, but I don't want to take any chances," Peter said. "I want to learn absolutely everything that we can from our man. Maybe something more will come up. I choose to remain optimistic."

It was late that night and both Peter and Elizabeth were in bed, but only one was sleeping as the agent was still struggling with trying to piece the incidents over the last few days together. Two o'clock came around when all of a sudden, the doorbell alerted Peter and his wife, causing them to become fully awake and fearful that something was seriously wrong.

Peter quickly pulled out his gun from the drawer of his nightstand and left the room, then cautiously, but swiftly travelled downstairs to see who could possibly be there at this hour, while Elizabeth slowly followed behind her husband. Peter aimed his weapon and opened the door, finding the last person he expected to see on his doorsteps, looking haggard and in a lot of pain.

Peter quickly lowered his gun and then reached out to help his friend inside as he softly cried out in surprise, "Neal? What on earth… what are you doing here?"

Neal practically collapsed in Peter's arms as the agent helped the younger man inside and carefully lowered him down onto the couch in the living room, then a blanket was laid over him by Elizabeth, who reached out to touch Neal's forehead to feel for a fever, as she could see that he was sweating.

Before Neal could say anything, Elizabeth turned to her husband and said, "He's burning up. I can't believe you left the hospital to come here, Neal. You're only going to make yourself worse off than you already are."

"I had to tell… everything's still a blur, but I… I remem…" Neal began until he laid his head back against the couch's pillows as he struggled to fight through the shot of pain that ran through his body just then.

"Take it easy, Neal," Peter said as Elizabeth left Neal's side to go into the kitchen to get some towels and warm water in order to help bring down his fever. "Surely you could have called instead of escaping the hospital. What's going on?"

Neal reopened his eyes and turned his head to look over at his friend as he answered fearfully, "She's alive. I don't… I don't know how, but she… she is. It's not poss…"

As Neal struggled to finish, Peter tightened his grip on Neal's neck and head as he asked softly, "Who's alive, Neal. Who shot you?"

"K… Kate, she's ali…," Neal finally managed to answer before he slowly passed out again due to the exertion he put his body through since leaving the hospital.

"Kate, Kate Moreau?" Elizabeth asked as she kneeled down at Neal's side again and began to use the wet towels to gently wipe down his face and neck. "Oh my God, Peter! How is this possible?"

Peter stared down at Neal as he struggled to think, then responded, "I don't know. I wish I could say it's possible Neal's only mixing up his dreams with reality, but… I know him well enough to know that if he claims he saw Kate, he saw her, which means she didn't die in the plane explosion after all. I have to call Jones and Diana. This is bad, El. If Neal's right, then Kate's the one who shot him, which explains why he risked his life to help her and didn't struggle to get away."

Elizabeth looked down at Neal as she replied sadly, "How could she shoot someone, who loved her as much as he did?"


	14. Chapter 14

As Darkness Falls

Chapter Fourteen

Within twenty minutes, both Diana and Jones arrived at Peter's after the lead agent called them, asking them to come without notifying anyone else. It wasn't until they walked inside that they discovered at least part of the reason why they were there in the middle of the night was because Neal had somehow managed to sneak out of the hospital and was now lying unconscious on Peter's couch, being tended to by Elizabeth.

"What's Neal doing here?" Diana asked in surprise as Peter moved her and Jones back further into the room in order to speak with them more in private so that they wouldn't upset Neal should he reawake while they talked. "How did he even get here in his condition?"

"I'm not really sure about how he got here right now, but that isn't why I asked you to come over," Peter replied. "Neal escaped because he remembered who shot him. He said the memories were hazy, but I know him well enough to know that if he had any doubt in his mind about this, he wouldn't have struggled so hard against the pain to make it here."

Jones, "Okay, so who was it?"

Peter looked over at Neal and his wife, then turned back to his friends, and answered, "It was Kate."

"Kate?" Diana asked in confusion. "You mean, Kate Moreau, the love of Neal's life, Kate Moreau? But how is that possible? She was killed when her plane blew up. If you recall, Neal would have been killed then too if you hadn't have distracted him long enough to keep him from getting on."

"I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I believe Neal," Peter responded confidently. "Kate is somehow our mystery woman."

Jones shrugged and then replied, "I can't believe it. You saw her on board that jet just before it blew."

Diana agreed, but then stated, "I suppose it's possible that Kate was working with Adler after all, or maybe he planned to kill both her and Neal, but she figured it out and when she realized that Neal wasn't going to join her, she managed to sneak off the plane herself before the bomb blew, without either of you seeing her do so, probably through an escape hatch underneath the floor. She wanted you both to believe she was dead. What I want to know is, if she really loved Neal, then why would she try to kill him?"

"I don't think she intended to kill him," Peter answered. "If she did want him dead, why not shoot him in the center of his forehead or again in the chest? I think she shot him in the side of his head because she didn't want him to remember seeing her there. Wounds like that can easily cause memory loss, but doesn't usually kill unless left untreated."

"Walk us through the footage from the office building," Jones spoke again.

Peter thought for a moment and then responded, "Neal comes around the corner and sees Kate struggling against Hagen and when she sees him, she cries out for Neal to help her. Neal runs in and pulls Hagen off of her, they struggle, and Hagen takes the first shot, then runs away. Neal then struggles to sit up as he looks up at Kate in surprise, but not with fear, believing that she'll reach out to help him, but instead she pulls up her own weapon and fires. She must have heard me call out Neal's name after the first shot was fired, or she figured that I would be right there to help him, so she ran."

Diana replied. "That all makes sense. What a cold-hearted bitch."

"I couldn't agree more," Peter stated with a chuckle and then walked over to stand over Neal and his wife. "How's he doing, Hon?"

"He's not well, but I think he's going to be all right," Elizabeth answered as Peter then knelt down beside her and felt Neal's skin for himself. "Boy, he's really hot. I should call for an ambulance and have the paramedics come to take him back to…"

Elizabeth interrupted, "You're probably right about that, but Peter, I think he'd be better off staying right here. I can take care of him myself. If he wakes up and finds himself back in the hospital, he'll most likely pull this same stunt again, just so that he can remain close to the case. You know how bullheaded he can be, especially now that Kate's involved. But next time, he'll probably reopen the wound in his chest and start to bleed out trying to get here. He's lucky that didn't happen this time."

Peter looked over at her as he asked softly, "Are you sure you're up to this? It won't be easy."

"Neal has risked his life to save mine and yours, twice now," she responded firmly. "It's my turn to do this for him. I want to do this for him, Peter. If he gets worse and needs to get the proper treatment, then I will call, but for now, we'll be all right, I promise."

"I really do love you," Peter replied and then leaned over and kissed his wife on her forehead, then again on the lips.

She smiled as she said, "I know and I love you too. Now, get out of here and find Kate and Hagen, whatever it takes."

Peter stood back up and then headed toward the door, followed by his teammates, as he called back to her, "Call me if anything changes."

"I will," she answered as they walked out the door and then finally looked back down at the unconscious form of her dear friend. "Please, stay with us, Neal. You heard me promise my husband that I'd take care of you, now keep up you're end of the bargain and hold on. You're going to be all right."

A little while later, back at the FBI's headquarters, Peter, Diana, and Jones all sat around the table inside the conference room as they wearily went over every detail they knew about this case, hoping that the recalling might spark something that would help them to find out where both Kate and Hagen were hiding, despite the earliness of the hour.

"The woman always did know how to stay hidden," Diana said. "Neal certainly taught her well back when they were both trying to get out from under Adler."

Jones responded, "Obviously a little too well."

Peter shook his head as he replied, "No, despite all of Neal's effort, I still managed to catch him, twice. I can catch her and Hagen too. We just have to think."

"Neal let you catch him the second time," Diana retorted as she stood up to go and get herself another cup of coffee. "Can I get you guys anymore?"

"No thanks, I think I've had…" Peter began to answer until his phone suddenly rang, the words, unknown caller appearing on the screen.

He looked at Diana and Jones oddly as they quickly began to set up a trace on the call, then Peter finally answered, "Agent Burke. Who is this?"

To Peter's surprise, Kate's voice came through as she spoke up saying, "_I apologize about the lateness of the hour, Peter, but I figured you be awake trying to find me as soon as possible._"

"I have to admit, I'm stunned to hear from you, especially when you're trying to play dead," Peter responded. "Are you still here in the city, or are you having a problem in dealing with Curtis Hagen? How could you shoot him, after all he's done for you? Wait, forget I said that. Listen to me, Kate. I know that you didn't shoot to kill him. You were only trying to protect yourself and keep him and us from finding out that you're alive, but we know now and we can help you with Hagen if you just help us catch him."

"_I should have known that Neal would remember,_" Kate replied. "_I thought he might and I needed to know if he did, so I planted a bug on him back when he was in the hospital thanks to a little help from an associate of mine. I don't care what any of you think of me. You're all probably right. I am cold-hearted for nearly killing a man I once loved._"

Peter quickly asked, "So you don't love him anymore?"

Kate answered sadly, "_He wasn't going to come with me after all. That day at the hangar, Neal betrayed me. He betrayed me for you; for a life where he wouldn't have to keep running, but it was a life without me; because I was never going to stop. I didn't want what he has. I am angry with him, but you know I didn't shoot him out of anger._"

"Yes, I do, so please, turn yourself in," Peter responded.

"_A part of me will always love Neal, but there's a reason why I'm calling you right now,_" Kate replied. "_I want to help you find Curtis Hagen. He double crossed me more than once now, as I expected he would. I have given him plenty of chances to deliver to me the real Rembrandt, but he has failed to do so, so now I must do whatever I have to do to get it. It's the only way I'll be able to continue to remain free, which I will do whatever I have to do to remain so. I can tell you where Hagen is, but you must have Mozzie deliver to me the Rembrandt that you confiscate after you arrest Hagen, alone._"

Peter shook his head and then asked, "What makes you think I will go along with this? You know I can't just let you go free after everything. Neal almost died; could still die because you helped a murderer escape from prison, just so that you can get your hands on a priceless painting."

Kate answered coldly, "_I know that Neal's currently at your home, being taken care of by your beautiful wife. An associate of mine is watching them right now. He really hates Neal because he helped lead you to him and his brother as they were in the middle of some kind of forgery scam, which led to his brother's death. Do as I ask, or I won't be able to stop my friend from taking his revenge out on Neal and then kidnap your wife._"

"What's happened to you, Kate?" Peter asked as Diana quickly began to try to get a hold of Elizabeth to warn her of the danger.

"_The years haven't been very kind to me,_" she responded. "_What is your answer, Peter?_"

Peter looked to Diana and Jones for confirmation that they had gotten through, but when he saw them shake their heads and begin to get ready to leave, he angrily replied, "All right, I'll do it. Where's Hagen hiding out?"

Kate finally replied, "_He's staying at the apartment where you caught Neal for the second time. I would hurry up and get there though, before Hagen finds his own way out of the city or country._"

"I couldn't reach Elizabeth," Diana stated quickly as the three agents rushed out of the office and headed back toward Peter's home as quickly as they could, hoping that she and Neal were still safe, but fearing that they were going to be too late. "The associate must have cut the phone line and she isn't picking up her cell."

"I called back up to get over there as quickly as possible, but I think we'll end up beating them there," Jones added.

Peter quickly ordered, "Have the agents go and pick up Hagen and any of his associates instead, right away. We can't risk losing him this time."

Jones answered, "You've got it."

Meanwhile…

Elizabeth continued helping Neal by wiping down, not only his face and neck, but also his chest and arms as well and though it didn't seem to be much, it appeared to be helping him a little as the fever was slowly beginning to work its way down. After awhile, the water finally became too cold and so she got up and headed into the kitchen as her phone rang, but couldn't hear it due to their dog, Satchimo, who was barking at the back door.

As she slowly approached the door to find out what had the dog on edge, it was suddenly kicked in and the man now standing in front of her with a gun quickly barged in and fired a shot toward the animal, but missed as he ran off at the sound the gun. Elizabeth screamed as the intruder refocused on her as he ordered her to back up and then headed into the living room where Neal was still lying on the couch. Elizabeth didn't try to put up a fight, knowing that it was a bad idea, at least for now, but when she saw the man take aim at Neal, ready to kill him, she quickly called out her dog's name, who suddenly charged the man again, causing him to drop the weapon as he began to struggle with the beast.

Elizabeth searched for the gun, which seemed to have disappeared, but before she could find it, the man knocked Satch off of him and unconscious by breaking a lamp over him and then began to make a move again toward her until all of a sudden a shot was fired from behind the attacker, a shot which hit him square in the back, causing him to collapse to the floor. Peter and his teammates arrived just then as the agent swiftly kicked in the front door of his home and they rushed in with their own weapons out, ready to fire at whoever was trying to harm his wife, but as they did so, they found the man already dead on the ground, as Neal was barely sitting up, leaning as far off the couch as he could, the smoking gun shaking within his right hand as he struggled to keep it raised.

"El, are you all right?" Peter quickly called out to her as he rushed over to help Neal as he finally lost grip of the gun and began to fall off of the couch.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she responded shakily as Diana came up to her and helped her to sit down in one of the chairs behind her. "Oh my God, how's Neal?"

Neal softly thanked Peter for his help as he weakly laid his head back against the pillows, then looked over toward Elizabeth, and replied, "I'll be all right too."

Peter looked down at the hole now in the intruder's back, then back over at Neal as he smiled softly, and he asked, "How on earth do you make those shots, especially in your condition?

"Just because I don't li… like guns, doesn't mean I'm not good… with them," he answered.

"Thank you, for saving my wife's life, again," Peter responded as he covered him back up with the blanket that had fallen off and then stood back up again in order to walk over to his wife and pull her into a hug. "I'm glad you're okay. I don't know what I would have done… if anything happened to you."

Peter held Elizabeth in his arms until she suddenly remembered that the attacker had wounded their dog and she pulled away as she called out to Jones, who was currently leaning over Satchimo, "Is he okay?"

The animal slowly raised his head to look over at her as Jones laughed and replied, "Yeah, he's got a small wound here, but he looks like he'll be okay too. You all are pretty damn lucky."

"You're telling me," Peter said.

"How did you know we were in trouble?" Elizabeth asked as she moved to look up at her husband while he continued to hold her. "I thought you were at work trying to get a lead on…"

Neal struggled as he spoke up softly saying, "It was Kate… wasn't it? She's desperate to get her hands… on the Rembrandt… that Hagen still has and that you're about to. She's trying to escape?"

Peter released hold of his wife, walked over to the couch once again, then took a seat on its edge as he placed a gentle on his friend's shoulder, and answered somberly, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you've already figured out what took us a couple of hours to."

"While I've been conscious…, I've been… working through as much… as I can," Neal responded sadly. "Kate has been in hiding… all this time… and though I taught her… as much as I could…, I couldn't teach her how hard… being on the run… truly was. It changes you… and some not always for the better. If I had gone on the run with her…"

"Then you would have been just as lost and not the man that I have come to respect and care for as a friend, a very good friend," Peter finished for him. "Her actions are not your fault, Neal. I promise you, we will do everything we can to find her and bring her in safely. It may take time and we may never catch up to her again, but we won't ever quit looking."

Neal finally looked over at him as he smiled and then asked, "And Hagen?"

Peter looked over and saw Jones on his cell phone and as the younger agent put his thumb up giving the okay, Peter looked back down, then replied, "It looks like we've got him in custody, just as expected. Kate told us where to find him, hoping that we would have Mozzie deliver the Rembrandt over to her. I'll bet he wasn't too pleased to see the FBI surrounding him?"

"No, I don't suppose he would be," Neal answered with a chuckle. "I can't wait to see his face."

"And you'll get your chance," Peter responded. "Now get some rest and don't try to do anything more stupid like what you just did tonight or I'll be forced to put you back into the hospital and have you restrained."

Neal smiled as he asked, "What makes you think… I won't just escape again? I've never been met with a lock… I couldn't pick."

Peter said, "Who said anything about restraining you with something lockable?"

The End


	15. Thank You

Thank you to all those who have written reviews for my stories! They are much appreciated. I am honored to have you all for fans and I hope to hear from you all again in the future, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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